How Did You Become A Rural Resident?

[Meerkat]

Were you always one ,farmer,rancher etc or is it something new to you?

We always wanted to get back to nature or at least growing and raising our own food.So we bought his land nobody had lived on since the mid 1950s. Only sign of resident here was a few bricks and an old well covered for half a century that is still covered and not used. Rosie and I would walk the woods when hubby was at work and found all kinds of old brown and blue bottles, fire brick, rusty tools, a old stone grnider with water pipe stivking out of ground. Son bought hubbty a metal detector 15 years ago but it has never been used.

I first got a donkey then hubbt got a horse like we had when we were living in the country.

We were going to raise guard donkeys so named our place ' Sassy Ass Acres ' home of Rosie '''''.

We had an acre cleared by a local company for well, septic and mobile home till we built the house. We were both still in good shape 'I was still playing softball at age 50 and he played that year too' in local leaque' He could work full time then up till midnight or later . And started clearing with help of family and 6 chain saws going at once on a few hundred trees to clear a paddock aka small pasture for horse and what was going to be pair of donks. We put up a barn like structure for the equin which is today a storage building . working the soil ,building hoop house then greenhouse, raised beds which later led to Aquaponics that proved unsuccessful here in hot humid Florida for the fish pond so went into hydroponics which was very successful so decided to build a hugelkultire pile thatis also doing really well.
It is for us a lonely life yet fulfilling . Lonely because of the busy society and few are into sustainabilaty.

I would put up pictures but PhotoBucket has them for ramsom . It is against the law but no enforcement.

 

[zoomzoom]

I grew up on a dairy farm.
Spent my late teens through mid 20's in more suburban/urban environments and whatever you want to call military life.
Moved back to rural and raised our family.
Funny - My son and I were in the car last week and I pointed out a house I saw for sale in our area. (we sometimes buy extra houses). He looked at it and said the neighbors are too close so we shouldn't get it. I smiled.

 

[Meerkat]

I grew up on a dairy farm.
Spent my late teens through mid 20's in more suburban/urban environments and whatever you want to call military life.
Moved back to rural and raised our family.
Funny - My son and I were in the car last week and I pointed out a house I saw for sale in our area. (we sometimes buy extra houses). He looked at it and said the neighbors are too close so we shouldn't get it. I smiled.

Good sign from the son Zoom.

 

[Meerkat]

I have noticed that if your not from the area your not in the clique of the Hatfields and McCoys,lol. Oh they are nice and will help you but don't make one mad because it has a domino effect..
Also most stick to themselves but will come to a party once theri feathers settle down,espsially if the drinks are free,had a house warming party fro our crew and invited niegbors, it was a nice event.
Don't get into local politics unless you realize their are two parties.
Neverr agre with local gossip sure fire way to get a story turned around and pointed at you. Just change subject real quick or walk away.
All rurual people are not conservative some like to do liberal things..
But people are peopel where ever you go and most are goof and so far our neighbors are good people minus a very few. Trust but verify or just observe and keep your opinions to yourself,.
Moral of the story is their is no moral just mind your own bizwax and enjoy life.
I like our place, our n-hood and the people here.

 

[The Lazy L]

Born and raised in the country. Married to live in a small town temporarily, 20 years latter I changed careers and moved back to the country.

 

[viking]

I grew up in a small rural community, I learned from friends what was edible in the woods that surrounded us, I probably thought that it was boring to live out in the country but now I realize the good it did for me. I lived in Seattle but I couldn't stand the pressures of being their and moved to the Bothell area, once again in a forested area. I lived in the N.E. Denver area and up near the Boulder turnpike and soon found that to be uncomfortable and moved to Conifer, at 8,100 ft. elevation, we planted our first garden there, the gophers had a feast, but it was a start on what we wanted to do. We moved to White Deer, Texas and found the area to be outside of what we were happy to be, we were used to mountains, streams and lakes and for me, salt water bays. While working in a tire shop in Pampa, TX, I frequently watched the national weather and saw that S.W. Oregon weather was mostly always rather mild and so this is where we ended up, in what we consider paradise, surround by low mountains, heavy forests, streams, lakes and the Pacific Ocean just a few hours to our west. We will probably never move again, perhaps it's because we're just too old, my wife frequently mentions, "God put us here" and the longer we are here, the more I see this as truth.

 

[Cnsper]

Have always lived outside the city. Up to 75 miles at times. Hate crowds and love the open skies

 

[Meerkat]

I grew up in a small rural community, I learned from friends what was edible in the woods that surrounded us, I probably thought that it was boring to live out in the country but now I realize the good it did for me. I lived in Seattle but I couldn't stand the pressures of being their and moved to the Bothell area, once again in a forested area. I lived in the N.E. Denver area and up near the Boulder turnpike and soon found that to be uncomfortable and moved to Conifer, at 8,100 ft. elevation, we planted our first garden there, the gophers had a feast, but it was a start on what we wanted to do. We moved to White Deer, Texas and found the area to be outside of what we were happy to be, we were used to mountains, streams and lakes and for me, salt water bays. While working in a tire shop in Pampa, TX, I frequently watched the national weather and saw that S.W. Oregon weather was mostly always rather mild and so this is where we ended up, in what we consider paradise, surround by low mountains, heavy forests, streams, lakes and the Pacific Ocean just a few hours to our west. We will probably never move again, perhaps it's because we're just too old, my wife frequently mentions, "God put us here" and the longer we are here, the more I see this as truth.

We are from the south but hubbys brother always said he would love to move to Oregon that from what he has seen it is nice and he likes all the water.

 

[LadyLocust]

Hubby and I both grew up on cattle ranches, have both been to town and back out of town. He is far more social than I am. I am more inclined to hermit life.

 

[Meerkat]

Have always lived outside the city. Up to 75 miles at times. Hate crowds and love the open skies

I like both the city and the country ,but now a days would not want to visit the city much less live there. Since the 60s communist manifesto has came to pass it is not safe.
So we will be here till thye make us leave or we kill over.

 

[Meerkat]

Hubby and I both grew up on cattle ranches, have both been to town and back out of town. He is far more social than I am. I am more inclined to hermit life.

LadyL I always liked to socialize with others but its not the same now. I too am a hermit now but not by choice.. People changed or maybe it was me guess we all did..

 

[LadyLocust]

LadyL I always liked to socialize with others but its not the same now. I too am a hermit now but not by choice.. People changed or maybe it was me guess we all did..

It's a lot easier when "common curtesy " is present. Now not only is it almost extinct, it's not even acknowledged. People cursing in front of children, spitting in public, interrupting, walking right out in front of etc. The whole "me first" mentality. Empathy is no longer taught at home. Makes me glad for such places as this forum.

 

[Meerkat]

It's a lot easier when "common curtesy " is present. Now not only is it almost extinct, it's not even acknowledged. People cursing in front of children, spitting in public, interrupting, walking right out in front of etc. The whole "me first" mentality. Empathy is no longer taught at home. Makes me glad for such places as this forum.

This too is so true .We see it all the time, but I do miss when things were more civilized and had manners and respect for themselves and others.
Sadly we are more or less prisoners in our own homes.

 

[Bacpacker]

I grew up farming, parents, and grand parents all. We weren't isolated, just rural. At 19 I decided I knew better, got married to an evil person and moved to town. After 3 years I had enough, got divorced and moved on. Moved to Louisville, Ky for school, got married while up there, graduated and moved back here. Took me a few years, but finally found a nice rural place, but it's too close to town. I'm hoping to find something way farther out in the country in the next few years and make the move when I retire.

 

[Redhorse]

Grew up in suburbs when they were still surrounded by farms. But also spent an large chunck of my childhood at my maternal grandparents farm. I only lived in a small town for a couple of years, then moved back out rural as soon as I could and have never looked back. I can't stand cities period :-(

 

[Morgan101]

I haven't yet. I guess I would be considered a city kid. Went from Big City to suburbs to small city. Moving to the country has gone from pipe dream to bucket list item. Just not going to happen given the current family situation.

 

[Frodo]

My Hood, i love living rural,

 

[Frodo]

A reason i live rural

This is called low water bridge, in the summer i put a folding chair in the water and just sit there
or sit on the bridge and wiggle my toes in the cool water

Not to far away

big Bass ,Bream, huge Cat Fish
tasty gators

My Pond, over taken with lillies

I walk these tracks for my health

 

[Spikedriver]

Hey @Frodo - some advice from a railroader, stay off the tracks. I don't want to have to call the railroad cops on you...

Seriously though, be careful. I haven't had to clean up a fatality on the tracks in my 11+ years on the job, and I hope I never do. I'd hate for it to be you or anyone else on HCL...

As for my rural life, I was born into it. Grew up on a 220 acre corn/beans/hay farm, with cattle and hogs. I live in a little farming town now, but eventually I expect I'll return to my roots...

 

[hashbrown]

My family came to the Ozarks in 1871 and no one ever moved on.